Wireless communications networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources.
A wireless communications network may include a number of network devices such as access points (APs) that can support communication for a number of wireless devices. A wireless device may communicate with a network device bidirectionally. For example, in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a station (STA) may communicate with an associated AP via downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the AP to the station, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the station to the AP. Additionally, a wireless communications network may include a number of network devices such as base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of wireless devices.
There may be cases in which a wireless communication device (e.g., station) may benefit from controlling power modes, allowing the device to power down or off a component, such as a radio component, and thereby reduce power consumption. In general, power saving is an important aspect of mobile communication devices because such devices are limited to an amount of power provided by a battery or batteries included in the device. Therefore, power conservation techniques that are simple to implement and may provide increased opportunities to reduce power consumption are desirable.